Former Obama aide likely to run for NYC mayor as Republican

11/13/12 10:15 AM EST

The New York Times scoops about the plans of former Obama administration official and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión to likely run for mayor, but as a Republican:

Should Mr. Carrión, a strong fund-raiser, prevail in a Republican primary, he could pose a credible challenge to whoever emerges from what is expected to be a wide-open and bruising primary for the Democratic nomination. And though Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York City by more than six to one, no Democrat has won the mayoralty since David N. Dinkins in 1989.

An adviser to Mr. Carrión, Davidson Goldin, said Mr. Carrión had recently left the Democratic Party and was unaffiliated. Mr. Goldin also said that Mr. Carrión, who would need the blessing of three of the five Republican county leaders to run on their line in the city, had been talking to individual chairmen regularly, and was to meet all of them Wednesday night. Mr. Carrión is also seeking the backing of the Independence Party...

... Mr. Carrión, a longtime resident of City Island, also comes with some baggage. When he was nominated by the White House in early 2009 to head its Office of Urban Affairs, he was the subject of an investigation in The Daily News for using, in a renovation project on his own home, an architect who was also involved in a major housing development project that required Mr. Carrión’s approval.

Republicans in New York, who have not had much by way of a party to speak of for the last several years, have been casting around for a candidate for awhile. But running as a Republican is difficult in heavily-Democratic New York City unless you have strong financing behind you — it remains to be seen whether that will materialize for Carrión.